I chuckled at the venom in his voice. “Sandwich first.” Standing up, I reached out to him and helped pull him up. I used a little too much force and he wasn’t quite ready. Zach nearly fell forward but caught himself on the counter. “Jesus, how much strength do you have?” “I deal with a lot of bags of flour on a daily basis.” I pulled a stool out of the closet and set it up for him. Putting the sandwich on a plate, I cut it in half and slid it over. He smiled and took a half. Watching him take the first bite, he looked slightly surprised. After another bite, he narrowed his eyes. “This bread…” Chuckling, I leaned against the sink. “Took me two years to get the ratios right. It uses three different types of flours. I had tried different butters, different techniques for kneading, baking, and even resting but I managed to find the perfect recipe.” “Even France can’t compete with this.” “Have you been comparing everything you eat here to France?” He took another bite. “Maybe.”

We got to the cafe and Mike was already putting the chairs up on the tables. I opened the door for Zach, who was still carrying Elliot. “Uncle M! Look! My dad came to visit!” There was an imperceptible look that fell over Zach’s face, but Mike cracked a smirk before turning to Elliot. “That’s great, kiddo! Why don’t you head up and get dressed for tonight? Your mom and I need to get everything together.” “Okay!” Elliot dropped out of Zach’s arms and thundered upstairs. “The cakes are cooled and ready for frosting.” Mike ignored Zach. I sighed. “Do you know how much I love you?” “Too much.” Laughing, I hip checked him as I walked by to the kitchen, but he barely moved. “You know, if you didn’t lose those thirty pounds this month, I might have felt it.” “Cállate, pendejo.” [Shut up, asshole.] I yelled at him. He yelled back. “Estas enojada porque sigues casada.” [You’re mad because you’re still married.] I laughed. “El único que está enojado por eso eres tú.” [The only one who

He was quiet for a moment before he turned and picked me up in his arms. I squeaked as he walked out of the kitchen and up the stairs. Setting me down on the edge of the bed, he seemed a little lost as what to do next. Grinning, I took his hand and led him into the bathroom. Leaving a crack in the door, I turned on the shower. My hand went to pull off my shirt, but Zach’s hands were already there, pulling it off for me. He slowly undressed me. A blush ran across my face. No one had seen me naked since having Elliot. Zach took in every part of me with his eyes. He touched only what was necessary to remove my clothes. Once he was done, I reached up and helped him take his shirt off. He undid the button on his jeans, but I unzipped him and pulled them down. Smirking, I turned from him before he could say anything. Stepping into the shower, there was a long moment before I felt Zach step in behind me. I didn’t acknowledge him and just rinsed off all the sand from the day’s festivities.

“So, Ron, Jacob, Anne, Elizabeth, David, his wife, and your dude…probably.” “Elliot wants to invite the girls over as well. So, add their parents if they want to come. Maybe Frank and his family?” Mike nodded, scrolling through his phone. “I’ll send out the invite. I already have the girl’s number from the last family day.” “Thanks.” Another knock on the door and Mike went out. He came back, followed by Ron and Zach. Elliot didn’t acknowledge either of them. Ron ruffled his hair, but Zach looked upset. “Hey kiddo, you alright?” Zach came up behind him and went to rub his back but Elliot moved away. “El…” I started but he huffed and grabbed his book. “I’m going to read.” Jumping out of his seat, he disappeared through the doors and I could hear him walk up the stairs. The door to the bedroom slammed shut and I winced. I held my cup of coffee tight in my hand. It started to shake until I finally couldn’t take the frustration. Throwing the mug at the cabinets, the ceramic shatter

***Zachary’s POV*** Looking out the window, I stared out the side of the plane. It hurt to be flying away from them. The longer into the flight we got, the more I wanted to fly right back. I knew I needed to help Adrian, though. The transition would probably not be as smooth as I would like. He had sent over the documentation with a few alterations while I was in LA, but now that it was signed and submitted. On Sunday at 11:59 p.m. my time as CEO of Anderson and A. Wright Group would end and it couldn’t come soon enough. I also needed to tell Stacy and Jason. Adrian had requested for them to stay, and even though I wanted to take Stacy with me to DV, I didn’t want to upend her life in New York. Plus, her work was exceptional enough for the Anderson Group. DV was small and seemed a little beneath her at this point. There was a huge list of things I needed to get done and I had made a schedule for myself to do all of them in between helping Adrian. The worst would be the press conf